Slow Cooker Recipe: Sweet and Spicy Bbq Sausage (2024)

FAQs

How do you thicken a sausage casserole in a slow cooker? ›

If you want to make the casserole gravy thicker, after the full cooking time. Mix 1 tablespoon of cornflour with 1 tablespoon of water, mix until lump-free, then and add to the pot. Cook on high and keep the lid off. It will thicken within 15 to 30 minutes whilst you prepare the side dishes.

You can make this particular recipe by putting sausages in the slow cooker without browning first. Browning them is mainly for texture. But it can add a little more flavour too (thanks to the maillard reaction). It's all down to personal preference.

Preheat the grill to high heat or around 450 degrees F. Grill. Place the sausages directly on the grill grates, close the lid, and cook for 4-5 minutes. Flip the sausages and grill for another 4-5 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 165 degrees F.

Grill at 300-350°F turning the sausage once during cooking time. Fully Smoked sausage should be grilled for 15-20 minutes until 165°F. Fresh (Raw) sausage should be grilled for 40-50 minutes until 165°F. The heat can be reduced as desired, but in this case the cooking time will need to be increased.

Take the lid off

Place the cooker on a high setting, and open the lid for 30-45 minutes to let excess moisture cook off. The liquid will reduce, leaving you with a thick and delicious gravy or sauce. (Tip: This trick can also be applied for thickening stews, or when you've accidentally added too much liquid.)

Serve with or over meat and/or vegetables. You can also add cornstarch dissolved in water (1 or 2 tablespoons cornstarch to 2 or 3 tablespoons cold water, depending on how much liquid you have) directly to the slow cooker near the end of cooking to thicken the liquids.

I used a sachet mix today its not designed to be used in the slow cooker but it works perfectly well so don't be afraid to use it.

The secret of frying is to cook the sausages slowly over a low to medium heat, until just cooked through, while getting a nice brown on the outside. For a fat snag this may take up to 45 minutes.

Boiling sausages keeps them moist, explains senior associate food editor Alison Roman, because no fat is rendered in a pan or on a grill—any fat that went into the sausage stays there, and when fat's a major player, it should really shine.

'Nduja – Italian spicy, spreadable sausage made with pork. Salami – Cured sausage, fermented and air-dried meat. Soppressata – Italian dry salami (sausage) Sopressa – Italian aged salume. Strolghino – Italian cured pork.

Should you poke holes in Italian sausage before grilling? ›

Putting holes in the sausage will allow the liquid inside the sausage to leak out during cooking, and the sausage will be less moist. It is sometimes said that puncturing sausage before grilling will keep the casing from bursting, but a better solution to this problem is to cook over low to medium heat.

Don't feel the burn

Instead, bring a large pan of water to the boil, add your sausages and simmer for 8 minutes, or until cooked. Drain them and they're ready to be grilled to perfection with no chance of being raw inside. Not only do they take a lot less time over the precious hot space, they stay juicy and plump.

Even if the casing does break a bit, high-quality smoked sausage is so juicy that it'll be hard to dry it out. If grilling is outside your cooking capacity, then pan-frying your smoked sausage on the stove will still yield a moist, crispy product in a very manageable way.

A slurry is a mixture of flour and water, whisked together until smooth and added towards the end of cooking; it's a super-simple way to thicken any soup. For slow cooker soups, add your slurry with at least 30 minutes of cook time left so that the raw flour can cook and thicken the soup. Need a gluten-free option?

Thicken a meat casserole the most popular way with flour.

Add some flour to your pan after you've browned the meat and before adding any liquid. This way, the flour will soak up the juices and fat in the pan. Add about one teaspoon of flour at a time until you get the right thickness.

The three main thickening agents for gravies are flour, cornflour and arrowroot. The first two are normally used in savoury dishes while arrowroot tends to be used in sweet dishes – that said, arrowroot will work in a savoury dish as it has no flavour.

If your gravy is on the skimpy side, you can thicken it quickly with flour or cornstarch. But don't add your thickener directly to the gravy, which will create lumps. Instead, try stirring in three or four tablespoons of flour or cornstarch into a small amount of cold water until you have a smooth paste.